Day 302: In US Trip, Zelenskyy Invokes Fight Against Nazi Germany

Facts

• In a whirlwind trip to Washington lasting less than 10 hours on Wednesday, Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with counterpart Joe Biden, addressed a joint session of Congress and held individual meetings with senators and members of Congress as he sought to galvanize further US support for Ukraine.
• The visit came as the US approved a further $1.85B in assistance for Ukraine, but was scrambling to approve a $1.7T omnibus spending bill to avoid a government shutdown that will include an extra $45B for the war-torn country — a move opposed by some Republican senators.
• In trying to unite senators, Zelenskyy thanked "every American" for the support already provided and said "your money is not charity," but rather "an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way." He also invoked a US victory in the Battle of the Bulge, a turning point against Nazi Germany in World War II.
• Responding to reports of additional funding for Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labelled the expansion of Western weapon supplies to the country as "an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine."
• Meanwhile, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, in a joint press conference with his defense minister and the army's chief of staff, pledged to "develop our armed forces and strengthen the capability of our troops." Putin approved measures to change the draft age from those between 18-27 to 21-30, as well as forming new units to increase the size of its armed forces to 1.5M.
• On the ground, Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk killed two civilians and injured 10 others in the past day, pro-Russia officials said. Among those injured were Dmitry Rogozin — a former deputy PM of Russia who also led its Roscosmos space agency — as well as Vitaliy Khotsenko, the prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
• In Russian attacks, one civilian was killed and six more were injured in Kherson while three people were injured in attacks on Donetsk. Three people were reported injured in Mykolaiv while two additional injuries were reported in Kharkiv.

Sources: Associated Press, Newsweek, Associated Press, Tass, and Ukrinform.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Associated Press. Continued US financial and military support to Ukraine is essential for it to keep staving off Russian aggression and to ultimately secure Ukraine’s sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Despite repeated Russian warnings, the US is continuing to escalate the conflict with its delivery of funds and advanced weaponry. This is increasingly raising the prospects of a wider escalation with unpredictable consequences.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by AntiWar. Multi-billion dollar weapons packages will make little difference in the outcome of the war. The US has been meddling in Ukraine since the end of the Cold War, and what we're witnessing is a geopolitical ponzi scheme to benefit those aligned with the military-industrial complex. War is a lucrative racket.

Predictions